


Danse macabre

by AtlantisLux



Category: Star Wars (Marvel Comics), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, What-If, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 21:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14819175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtlantisLux/pseuds/AtlantisLux
Summary: Darth Vader thought he had won her loyalty with fear, but he was wrong. Nothing could scare Trios of Shu-Torun; she was ready to die to achieve a superior goal.





	Danse macabre

They had slaughtered her family, and now the Empire was killing her planet. But Trios of Shu-Torun would have had her revenge, no matter what.

She was returning home, Queen of a world where was lava and not water that flowed in rivers and pooled in fiery oceans. A planet where the population lived extracting from the mantle the precious minerals necessary to the imperial shipyards.

Trios was coming back home, after having helped the Rebel Alliance once more. As the shuttle descended through the atmosphere of Shu-Torun, the young woman clenched in her fist the _gift_ Darth Vader had given her the day he crowned her Queen, over the dead bodies of her father and siblings.

The rough surface of the rock hurt her palm, but Trios was grateful for the pain that kept her focused. She always carried that piece of Alderaan with her, and when in doubt she observed it, remembering the Sith's words: that rock was for her memento that even Shu-Torun could suffer the same fate as Alderaan, had his inhabitants dared to challenge the Empire.

Trios was sure: to avoid the destruction of Shu-Torun, the Empire had to be defeated. The entity that threatened her people had to disappear.

The Queen weighted the rock, as a light frown creased her brows.

Darth Vader thought he had won her loyalty with fear, but he was wrong. Nothing could scare Trios of Shu-Torun; she was ready to die to achieve a superior goal, and it was a mystery to her how Vader did not understand that, after she had almost sacrificed herself to kill him. Trios was sure: no price was too high to save her home world, and she was ready to pay it. That is why she had decided to support the Rebel Alliance, supplying it with the same materials sent to the imperial shipyards. To guarantee the success of her plan Trios had involved only few, trusted people. The ones who could have took all the blame, if discovered.

Despite Vader's threats, Trios mused that the Empire could not fulfill the plan to rule the Galaxy without support from Shu-Torun, at least until they had completed the super-weapon they were assembling. Trios had no doubt that a second Death Star was under construction. The requested materials were suspiciously too similar to those supplied for the first weapon to be reassuring. The demand was intensifying week after week. The Rebel Alliance had to hit before the satellite was completed.

Departing from Shu-Torun, Vader had left a small garrison of Stormtroopers on the planet, intended to defend Trios against other possible insurrections of her barons. The soldiers’ captain had also to remain at Trios’ side as military adviser and supervisor. It was not lost to Trios that the man’s real job was to oversee her, and she had knew right away what to do. Trios had started to seduce him as soon as Darth Vader left the planet. She knew exactly which tactics to follow to make the captain capitulate, and it took her just few hours to have him on his knees. A simple imperial officer could not resist a woman like her, attractive and grown up in a sophisticated but seductively dangerous royal court.

The young Queen caressed the remains of Alderaan, while the shuttle pilot announced that the landing operations were beginning.

As the imperial vigilance was impossible to evade, she had only one option: to have the military attaché in her bed. It was the best way to distract him from investigate too much into what Trios was doing. Make him lose his head and dazzle him with the beauty of Shu-Torun's fascinating high-society rituals. That had been the easy part.

The shuttle placidly landed on the tarmac next to her family's private residence, an imposing manor overlooking a lava lake. Trios descended from the ship, surrounded by her bodyguards. Compared to the controlled atmosphere of the shuttle, Shu-Torun's air was warm, and the delicate perfume of sulfur smelled like home.

Trios smiled, saluting a middle-aged man who was waiting at the foot of the ramp: her Prime Minister.

He greeted her, bowing his head. "Welcome back, Your Highness."

"I received your reports. The Empire's requests have increased."

"Unfortunately. We are managing to satisfy them, but the ore-barons are… agitated. Many veins are running out, and it is necessary to dig deeper and deeper."

It was hard not to show any sign of discomfort. The Empire was sucking her planet dry. When there would be nothing else to predate, Shu-Torun would be destroyed. Trios was sure of it.

Maybe she had to change strategy; perhaps a more decisive support to the Rebel Alliance was necessary. In any case, they could not continue to supply the rebellion, if the requests from their other client were so astronomical. In order to do this, the imperial captain had to be removed. The thought brought her a pang of reluctance. Trios walked thoughtfully, hardening her mind and heart for what she had to do.

She had not expected the imperial to be a so satisfying companion, both in her bed and out. Trios had taught him how to dance, and she had introduced him to the court rituals of Shu-Torun. He had been a diligent student, fascinated by the luxury that surrounded the noble mining houses. Trios had thought that a soldier, accustomed only to the battlefields, or to the aseptic environments of the Star Destroyers, would have been quite indifferent to the blatant displays of opulence that Shu-Torun had to offer. She had predicted he would have even felt uncomfortable. Surely, the man was not accustomed to the elusive dangers that the high-society hid, like a promising mineral vein concealed deadly molten rocks, but he had proven her wrong. The captain had no relevant problems to adapt to the complicated habits and rituals of Shu-Torun, and he had even been more than happy to participate to the endless banquets of the aristocracy.

In addition, he was a great advisor, although he did not truly love the direct and quick ways of Trios. The imperial preferred to eliminate her enemies via complicated political schemes that she found a little too ambiguous and sometimes plainly sadistic, but which amused the man immensely.

Trios stopped at the center of the spacious hall of her palace, and the procession froze around to her.

"My Queen?" his Prime Minister asked.

Trios stared at the man, as she was seeing him for the very first time. The man’s appointment had been a direct suggestion of the imperial captain. Apparently, the Prime Minister had proven himself to be a capable and loyal servant of her house. Apparently.

Trios shook her head, her lips posed in a smile that her blue eyes did not echo. Could it be that her lover was a sneaky manipulator up to that point? Could have he fooled her so blatantly?

Impressed, Trios shook her head. "Sorry. I just recalled something important I have to do.”

The Queen resumed her walking. She would have reached her rooms, refreshed and changed in a proper attire, and then she would have invited the imperial captain to dance with her for one last time.

With a hint of guilt, Trios realized she was sorry he had to disappear, but it was unavoidable, and she had to take care of that problem personally. None could be trusted. 

\-----------------

Trios had to disappear. She was beautiful, intelligent, uninhibited in bed and ruthless in a way he found exciting, but she was clearly conducting a very dangerous double game. He had not yet been able to find the evidence, but he was sure Trios was selling raw materials to the Rebel Alliance. He had filed a report, and the response had been clear: Shu-Torun was necessary to the Empire, and those who governed it could not waltz with other partners. The Queen had to be removed with the utmost discretion, so as not to upset the existing equilibrium between the ruling house of Shu-Torun and the ore-barons. Then, someone else more faithful had to be put in her place. Although delicately sorry for his current lover, the captain already had a suitable candidate.

The Queen of Shu-Torun was not stupid, but he had deceived people who were more astute than she was, and he had understood the woman's game from the very beginning. He had let Trios lead the dance, and she had adapted to his script as if she had read it. 

The imperial captain smiled, staring at the sea of magma under the terrace of the manor. Trios had come back home, and she had asked him to wait for her there. Poor thing. Unknown to her, he was not just a Stormtrooper officer, but a Naval Intelligence commander. He had succeeded in deceiving Darth Vader too. He was sure the Sith knew there were spies among his troops, but the thought did not seem to bother Vader one iota.

"Here you are." The captain turned toward the voice. Trio was more beautiful than ever. She was a dream, wrapped in a pale blue dress. The young woman moved close to him, took his hands in hers and stood up on her tips to give him a light kiss on the lips. The woman's grip was firm, but her left hand - the only one still flesh and blood - was icy.

"Did I miss you?" 

"Terribly. Baroness Araxe's party was so boring... no one dance like you.” 

Trios laughed, clearly pleased. Even at a time like this, this wonderful woman appreciated some flattery. She was cruel. The imperial was sure he would have missed her.

"Unfortunately, the mission took more time that it was expected. But now I’m here and I’ve missed our dances too. Shall we…”

Trios snapped her fingers, and the music of a famous opera resonated throughout the terrace. He knew the play well.

"Oh, the Cora Vessora Cantata, my favorite opera." 

That was another thing he would have missed: the woman's passion for drama. Had he not had a higher destiny to fulfill, sharing with Trios the throne of Shu-Torun would have been a blissful experience. She was really his ideal companion. 

"I know" Trios said, another smile claiming her lips. "Let's dance, Captain Rax?" 

_Commander Gallius Rax_ , Emperor Palpatine's only friend, nodded, allowing Trios to lead the dance for the last time. Her plan for him was written all over her face, but it was destined to fail. Trios would have not left the terrace alive. 

Rax's smile widened. They were all only marionettes. And she played her part so well...

**Author's Note:**

> Eh, well, since Gallius Rax's missions remain unlisted, it has been funny to imagine he was the unknown Stormtrooper captain mentioned in the end of the Shu-Torun war arc. Obviously, this is a mere speculation... luckily for Trios ;)


End file.
